This proposal requests partial support for an international conference titled "Single-Molecule Approaches to Biology" as part of the Gordon Research Conference series to be held at Il Ciocco, Lucca (Barga), Italy, June 27 - July 2, 2010. The ability of single-molecule approaches to avoid ensemble averaging and to capture transient intermediates and heterogeneous behavior renders them particularly powerful in elucidating mechanisms of the molecular machines central to biology. By observing individuals, it is possible to more deeply understand what they do, how they work individually, how they work together, and finally, how they work inside live cells. This conference seeks to bring together top experts in molecular and cell biology with innovators in the measurement and manipulation of single molecules. The goals are to better promote the use of the single-molecule approach, to generate new biological knowledge, and to better inform the development and implementation of single- molecule techniques for compelling biological problems. The specific aims of this meeting are to convene 40 senior and emerging speakers who represent new thrusts of single-molecule research with a total of 170 participants for a five day conference in a relatively isolated setting. The program will cover cutting-edge developments in single-molecule sequencing, DNA/RNA/protein interactions, folding machines, cellular biophysics, synthetic biology and bioengineering, force spectroscopy, new method developments, super resolution imaging in cells, and novel probes for single-molecule imaging. In addition, four poster sessions will give participants various opportunities to actively participate in the scientific discourse. The significance of this application is that the Gordon Research Conference on Single-Molecule Approaches to Biology is a powerful vehicle to promote and enhance the exchange between emerging/innovative methods and important biological problems. The health-relatedness of this application derives from the fact that single-molecule approaches provide previously unobtainable data on fundamental biochemical and biophysical processes that are essential for all forms of life, including human pathogens, thus extending our knowledge and generating new approaches to improving human health. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The health-relatedness of this application derives from the fact that single- molecule approaches to biology provide previously unobtainable data on fundamental biochemical and biophysical processes that are essential for all forms of life, including human pathogens, thus extending our knowledge and generating new approaches to improving human health.